ISEE/CfAO Professional Development Program

The ISEE/CfAO Professional Development Program (PDP) is a flexible, multi-year program for scientists and engineers at the early stages of their careers, with a primary focus on graduate students. Particpants receive training through workshops, work on a design team beofre and after workshops, continue developing their skills through mini-workshops and expert consultation, and then put their new teaching skills into practice. The practical teaching experience takes place in “teaching labs” — PDP-affiliated educational programs or courses. PDP participants leave the program as well-trained, innovative, and reflective scientist-educators and engineer-educators.

This article describes the Professional Development Program, originally developed through the Center for Adaptive Optics and now also supported by the Institute for Scientist and Engineer Educators. The PDP is the central means by which we foster scientist- and engineer-educators, and is a rich, evolving program. The article lays out the motivation behind the PDP and highlights both program-level and participant goals. Participants and their pathways through the program are described, as well as the roles of PDP "staff" designers and educators in supporting participants' progress.

For Information About the Professional Development Program Please Contact: Lisa Hunter, hunter@ucolick.org, 831-459-2416, 808-573-9542.

The PDP was developed by the CfAO. In 2009 it is a joint project of the CfAO and the new UCSC Institute for Scientist and Engineer Educators (ISEE).